Work Place Harassment – Pakistan Gender Newshttps://www.pakistangendernews.org
Gender News From PakistanFri, 24 May 2019 08:35:49 +0000en-US
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1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.2.1LHC upholds firing of university professorhttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/lhc-upholds-firing-of-university-professor/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/lhc-upholds-firing-of-university-professor/#respondFri, 24 May 2019 08:35:49 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87949Islamabad: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has upheld the decision of the Punjab ombudsperson and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in the sexual harassment case against a professor of the Lahore university.

On Thursday, LHC judge Justice Jawad Hassan issued the verdict in the case, which was reserved on May 13.

A complaint of sexual harassment was lodged with the ombudsperson and the HEC against University of Lahore assistant professor, who was also a student of Doctorate in Institute of Molecular Biology and Bio-Technology at the same university by a female student.

The student alleged that the assistant professor harassed her sexually by sending her vulgar text messages on WhatsApp while she was asking questions about a subject of cell and tissue culture.

The complaint further stated that he forced her to visit his bachelor accommodation and cook food for him. She also alleged that when she was inquiring from him about the status of class result, he started conversation relating to sex and showed his intention of having sex with her.

She alleged that some other girls also faced sexual harassment by the petitioner.
A detailed inquiry was conducted which found the professor guilty of committing sexual harassment at the workplace.
Later, the professor approached the LHC, filing a writ petition.

According to the detailed 38-page verdict authored by Justice Hassan over the writ petition, “Sexual harassment, and harassment on non-gender discriminatory grounds, pollute the working environment and can have a devastating effect on the health, confidence, morale and performance of those affected by it. Commonly, the anxiety and stress produced by sexual harassment and harassment may lead to those subjected to it taking time off work due to sickness and stress, being less efficient at work or leaving their job to seek work elsewhere. Under the jurisprudence developed in this matter, the employees often suffer the adverse consequences of the harassment itself and, in addition, the short and long term damage to their employment prospects if they are forced to forego promotion or to change jobs.”

Legal experts say the judge has interpreted Workplace (Amendment) Act, 2012, which might be relevant in Meesha’s case against Ali Zafar.
An inquiry was initiated and the petitioner was dismissed from service under the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Amendment) Act, 2012 and was also expelled from the University of Lahore as a student of Doctor of Philosophy in Biotechnology, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology.

The petitioner preferred an appeal before the Ombudsperson who modified the order of the competent authority with certain modifications vide order dated December 3, 2018 and converted the penalty from “dismissal from service” to “removal from service”. The petitioner then approached the LHC.
The court also said that the work environment for women, in a male-dominated society like Pakistan, is often hostile and antagonistic hindering their contribution to their country’s development as well as their right to employment.

In his landmark judgement, Justice Hassan has noted, “It is also our constitutional duty to protect women to ensure their full participation in all spheres of national life, under Article 25 read with 34 of the Constitution. The sexual harassment and harassment may also have a damaging impact on employees not themselves the object of unwanted behaviour but who is witness to it or has knowledge of the unwanted behaviour.”

In the wake of circumstances as well as detailed inquiry report and decision of the HEC, the petitioner has been found guilty of committing sexual harassment at the workplace. It would not be out of place to mention here that the persistent and unwanted amorous advances by the petitioner to a female student would amount to a fundamental breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence. No doubt, more and more girl students, women etc go to educational institutions, workplaces etc, their protection is of extreme importance to a civilised and cultured society.

Regarding the question about expelling the petitioner from PhD programme of the university, the LHC judgement says that if he is allowed to continue his PhD programme in the said university, he will remain a constant threat to the victim as well as other female students. Therefore, in order to create a safe and healthy educational environment for all the female students, the presence of the petitioner in the said university is unwarranted and unjustified. Moreover, the counsel for the petitioner failed to point out any infirmity, perversity and illegality in the inquiry conducted by the university as well as in the decision of the HEC, said the judgement.

During the latest hearing of the defamation case, the seven witnesses brought by the legal team of Zafar submitted their affidavits terming the allegations placed by Meesha Shafi as entirely ‘baseless.’

The witnesses had claimed in their affidavits that no sexual harassment had taken place at the jamming session where Meesha Shafi had alleged Zafar had harassed her.

After adjourning the hearing till May 29, Shafi’s lawyers were summoned by the district and sessions court for cross-questioning of the witnesses at the next hearing.

Shafi had accused Zafar of sexually harassing her on ‘multiple occasions’ last year in a Twitter post after which Zafar had filed a Rs1 billion defamation suit against her, while refuting the accusations.

]]>https://www.pakistangendernews.org/ali-zafars-seven-witnesses-submit-affidavits-against-meesha-shafi/feed/0SC orders early disposal of Meesha Shafi, Ali Zafar casehttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/sc-orders-early-disposal-of-meesha-shafi-ali-zafar-case/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/sc-orders-early-disposal-of-meesha-shafi-ali-zafar-case/#respondWed, 15 May 2019 05:09:04 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87872ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday ordered the early disposal of the Meesha Shafi harassment case and stated that no unnecessary adjournments will be granted.

The two-member SC bench further instructed that the order of the high court, passed earlier in April, will be followed. It also ordered Meesha Shafi and Ali Zafar’s counsels to cross-examine the witnesses on the same day.

The bench further noted that the affidavits of the witnesses should be filed within seven days and an advance copy should be sent to the respondent for preparation.

The witnesses will then be produced on the same day and the cross-examination will commence.

Shafi had challenged the LHC judgement in the apex court last month.

The LHC had set aside an earlier lower court directive that had mandated a conclusion to the defamation case by April 15 and instead gave the petitioners and respondents three months more.

In April 2018, Meesha had accused singer Ali Zafar of sexual harassment. While the singer took to the social media to make her voice heard, Zafar responded with legal advances, announcing he would be taking a professional route on the matter.

]]>https://www.pakistangendernews.org/sc-orders-early-disposal-of-meesha-shafi-ali-zafar-case/feed/0Meesha wants to become Malala by accusing Ali: Meerahttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/meesha-wants-to-become-malala-by-accusing-ali-meera/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/meesha-wants-to-become-malala-by-accusing-ali-meera/#respondSat, 04 May 2019 11:58:19 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87792In a recent interview, veteran actor Meera has called out singer Meesha Shafi for accusing Ali Zafar of sexual harassment. The Nazar star mentioned the former Overload vocalist hopes to become Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai with her ‘tactics’, reported Express News.

According to a statement, Meera praised fellow actor Ali, saying he is a very talented and accomplished artist. “Meesha is in the wrong in this case,” she said. “Anyone can get two seconds of fame after wrongfully using the name of a successful individual and Meesha has done the same by dragging Ali in this issue.”

The Baaji star continued, “Meesha’s intentions are in front of everyone. She only wants to stay relevant and make headlines by alleging that Ali harassed her. Meesha hopes to get international attention like Malala.”

She concluded, “Ali is innocent and I stand with him in these trying times.”

Earlier, Ali made the same reference in a press conference. “I don’t know whether by doing this she wanted to become another Malala and get fame abroad. Malala is a true warrior who stands for truth and justice having made great sacrifices. Meesha cannot become her by lying and running away from justice hiding behind fake profiles on social media

]]>https://www.pakistangendernews.org/meesha-wants-to-become-malala-by-accusing-ali-meera/feed/0KU drags its feet on sexual harassment complaintshttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/ku-drags-its-feet-on-sexual-harassment-complaints/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/ku-drags-its-feet-on-sexual-harassment-complaints/#respondSat, 04 May 2019 11:56:40 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87789KARACHI: The Karachi University (KU) administration, it appears, has adopted a passive approach to handling sexual harassment complaints against two faculty members, raising questions as to whether it is resorting to delay tactics on the matter.

The faculty members have been accused by six KU students of using ‘low attendance’ and issues with grades to harass their female classmates. In a two-page complaint, the students have urged the university administration form a panel to look into the matter.

However, three days after the issue first surfaced, KU authorities still have not referred the matter to harassment committee nor called the students who filed the complaint to confirm and clarify their allegations, sources in the KU student body and staff told The Express Tribune.

Instead, the university administration has asked the students to re-submit official complaints separately, said KU spokesperson Muhammad Farooq. Contradicting earlier reported statements, the spokesperson admitted that the student advisor’s office had indeed received a complaint but in the form of a petition lacking crucial details such as the roll numbers of the students who signed.

“The university cannot take action until the students who have allegedly been harassed file separate complaints and provide evidence of the offence,” said Farooq.

Talking to The Express Tribune, one of the students who filed the original complaint said they sent another application to the KU student advisor’s office on Friday. “In this new application, I and the other complainants have confirmed that we take ownership of the previous complaint and urged the university administration once again to look into the allegations we have made,” the student said.

While the university keeps dragging its feet, the issue reportedly came to a head on Thursday when one of the faculty members accused of harassing female students got into a verbal altercation with one of the students who made the complaint.

According to sources, the faculty member demanded the student leave the department while the latter insisted that he cannot be barred from attending classes by anyone other than the student advisor. Other students too joined in the loud exchange, prompting other faculty members to attempt to mediate. Finally, the student was convinced to be patient and the accused faculty member was allowed to record a protest as well, sources said.

Interestingly, a selection board to review one of the accused faculty member’s promotion to permanent faculty was convened the same morning, sources said. They added that the complaint by students has also been sent to the Governor’s House. Meanwhile, an official at the Governor’s House confirmed that they had received the complaint and will write a letter to the KU administration on Monday, seeking a report on the matter.

The harassment complaints were also discussed in the meeting of the Karachi University Teachers Society (KUTS) executive council, which took place on Thursday as well. “Participants of the meeting agreed that the complaints of both the students and the faculty members should be reviewed in light of technical and legal aspects, that the KU administration should not delay this matter and that the university should streamline the complaint filing procedure,” KUTS Secretary Ghufran Alam said.

]]>https://www.pakistangendernews.org/ku-drags-its-feet-on-sexual-harassment-complaints/feed/0Report highlights online abuse experienced by women activists in Pakistanhttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/report-highlights-online-abuse-experienced-by-women-activists-in-pakistan/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/report-highlights-online-abuse-experienced-by-women-activists-in-pakistan/#respondThu, 25 Apr 2019 11:39:16 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87748KARACHI: Fifty-five per cent of women journalists, social media activists and human rights defenders in digital spaces surveyed have been subjected to online abuse or harassment. Ninety-one per cent felt the abuse was gendered and mostly personal in nature. Eighty-five per cent said the online abuse hurled at them often originated from apparently fake accounts.

These are the key findings of the report Fostering Open Spaces in Pakistan — Combating Threats to Women’s Activism Online, released on Wednesday by the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF), an organisation working on online violence against women and online free speech issues.

The report draws its findings from the experiences of 60 women from across the country who have witnessed or been impacted by online abuse.

“The framework of intimidation against women ranges from misogyny to harassment and from stalking to surveillance. The cumulative impact of this is threatened freedom of expression, privacy and activism of women online through threats, harassment and rejection,” states the report which is available online. “While these risks to women are fairly well documented, there is little focus on analytical examination of the impact of these risks on rights activism by women in online spaces in Pakistan.”

DRF’s Nighat Dad said in a press release: “It is fairly common to see how women information-practitioners are targeted online because of their activism. Women’s opinions are not heard in online and offline spaces and we see how they are a constant target of harassment and online abuse.

“Women also do not feel safe enough to file complaints of the online abuse they face because of lack of support from law enforcement bodies. This needs to change.”

Besides highlighting challenges, the report also put forth recommendations to combat them, such as accountability mechanisms for treatment of harassment cases by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

It calls for more representation of women and members of the transgender community in the discourse surrounding digital safety and privacy of vulnerable groups. Regulation of online spaces, often suggested by official authorities, was disapproved by 66.7 per cent respondents who said they did not support it.

“With growing evidence of online abuse, and an increasing backlog of cyber harassment complaints, the authorities must look inwards instead of pinning the blame on social media companies. The lack of trust expressed in FIA by the participants of the study further leads credence to this fact,” said Ramsha Jahangir, the author of the report.

]]>https://www.pakistangendernews.org/report-highlights-online-abuse-experienced-by-women-activists-in-pakistan/feed/0Canadian woman pardons alleged harassershttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/canadian-woman-pardons-alleged-harassers/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/canadian-woman-pardons-alleged-harassers/#respondFri, 19 Apr 2019 13:19:44 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87723ISLAMABAD: Two young men were on Thursday arrested on the complaint of a Canadian national for allegedly harassing her.However, they were released after a few hours as the complainant pardoned them.

Assma Galuta, a humanitarian worker for refugeesin different parts of the world and a travel blogger, submitted a complaint to Pakistan Citizens’ Portal on April 15 alleging that two young men in a car harassed her in Bahria Town Phase VII and asked her to get into their vehicle.

They also blocked her way to embark in a cab and later followed her to Islamabad trying to block her vehicle and asking its driver about her destination. She changed her destination and hid in a mall until they left.

The complaint was forwarded to the inspector general of police Islamabad on April 16 which led to the registration of a case.

The police took two days to trace and arrest the suspects, who were students of a university and residents of Bahria Town. When the police informed the complainant about the arrest, she reached the police station and identified the suspects.

However, family members of the two men, including their mothers and sisters, also reached the police station and requested the complainant to pardon them. Besides, the suspects also apologised to her.

The Canadian woman accepted their apology and pardoned the men, the police said. In response, both the suspects were released.

]]>https://www.pakistangendernews.org/canadian-woman-pardons-alleged-harassers/feed/0Canadian model harassed by hoodlums in Islamabadhttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/canadian-model-harassed-by-hoodlums-in-islamabad/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/canadian-model-harassed-by-hoodlums-in-islamabad/#respondWed, 17 Apr 2019 12:28:38 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87713ISLAMABAD: Police in the federal capital on Tuesday booked two unidentified men after taking notice of a Canada-based model and activist, known for her humanitarian work, being repeatedly harassed by two motorists earlier this week.

Asoomii Jay alias Assma Galuta, who had married a Pakistani man in 2018 and is currently visiting the country to raise awareness about social injustices including Islamophobia, said that she was in an area on the confluence of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Monday.

PHOTO: SOCIAL MEDIA

She was waiting for her cab to go home when two men pulled up in a car and started cat-calling her and repeatedly told her to get in their car. When she refused, they followed her cab for the next two hours as she travelled to her destination in Islamabad.

A video she made of the men showed them trying to intercept her car and asking the driver for her destination. She had posted the video on the internet and it went viral.

“I had to change my drop-off location and hide in the mall until [I] was sure they were gone and then I went to my Airbnb,” she wrote in her complaint.

Shaken by the ordeal and infuriated after some people started victim-blaming her, she stated in a video on Tuesday that she had complained about the incident to the police who only asked her to report the matter to a special phone number on which she received no response.

Then, on the suggestion of a follower, she posted a complaint on the Prime Minister’s Complaint Portal but that too did not yield a different result.

When contacted by Express News, Islamabad Operations-DIG Waqarud Din Syed said that he had no knowledge of the incident and asked to contact the concerned SP.

However, after the issue was televised on Express News, police officials sprang into action and SP Rural reached out to the victim and assured her that the suspects would soon be brought to book. He also directed the Sihala police station SHO to submit a detailed report within 48 hours.

Later, on Tuesday an Islamabad Police spokesperson said that IGP Amir Zulfiqar Khan also took notice of the incident and directed to arrest the culprits.

A first information report (FIR) of the incident was registered at Sihala police station with charges of attempting to illegally confine, criminally intimidate and assault.

PHOTO: SOCIAL MEDIA

While addressing a news conference in the federal capital on Tuesday, State Minister for Interior Shehryar Afridi also commented on the issue. He stated that respecting guests and tourists was every Pakistani’s religious, ethical and moral obligation. He requested youngsters to uphold the honour of the country.

Meanwhile, police sources said that the car used by the suspects was registered to a Lahore resident and that their team will soon be sent to the Punjab capital to apprehend the suspects.

Asoomii thanked Express News for bringing the matter in the notice of authorities. She also prayed that the women of Pakistan get their voice heard and that their stories do not go unreported.

]]>https://www.pakistangendernews.org/canadian-model-harassed-by-hoodlums-in-islamabad/feed/0‘Harassment is an issue of human rights, security & economics’https://www.pakistangendernews.org/harassment-is-an-issue-of-human-rights-security-economics/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/harassment-is-an-issue-of-human-rights-security-economics/#respondSat, 13 Apr 2019 11:11:31 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87698KARACHI: “I am a victim of sexual harassment. When a legislator like myself, who had a part in the making of the harassment bill, can be verbally abused by the treasury benches in the assembly the way that I was, then what to say about the other women,” said MPA Nusrat Seher Abbasi.

She was speaking as a panellist at a seminar to look at the ‘Credibility, risk and legislative significance of the #MeToo movement in Pakistan’ organised under the Global Neighbourhood for Innovation’s (GNMI) Lab Kushai project in collaboration with Pakistan-US Alumni Network and the US Embassy at a local hotel here on Friday.

“A woman possesses a third eye through which she can sense how one sees them and what someone’s tone suggests. But it is seldom that she will do anything about it. The weaker ones would even choose to ignore, bury a matter completely or sweep it under the rug rather than come out and confront or raise a voice against such wrongs,” she added.

Parents urged to educate and make children aware about different forms of harassment

Producer, director and actor Sahira Kazmi said it was important to educate and make one’s children aware about the different forms of sexual harassment.

“First they should know about it from parents, then schools, too, must explain such things to their pupils along with the media doing its bit about spreading awareness about the issues, people’s rights and also the laws such as the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace bill and other laws,” she said.

“About harassment at the workplace,” Kazmi added, “there are other things too that come into play such as jealousy of women who are excelling at their work. Professional jealousy also exists. So it is important to hammer gender equality in children from the start. Tell them that men and women are equal,” she said.

She also stressed on empowering girls. “We must encourage them to come out and point out the culprits,” she said.

Journalist Uzma AlKarim said that it was important to communicate to the harasser “that what he or she is doing is ‘unwanted’ and ‘unwelcome’ because when you do file a complaint against them, you are also asked whether you told them that what they were doing was undesirable”, she said.

Singer and motivational speaker Ayesha Adil said that women must have the courage to give a shut-up call to whoever is bothering them, which sadly did not always happen as they had not been given that kind of confidence by their parents.

Tasneem Ahmar of the Uks Research Centre said that mindsets which assume things like a girl’s smile meaning ‘yes’ or ‘her no, really meaning her yes’ needed to be changed. “The #MeToo movement is also taken as a joke by some people who say that the victim too must have had a part in what was coming her way in the form of harassment, or that she must have provoked her harasser in some way,” she observed.

Actor and model Sana Fakhar observed that when a woman complained against harassment, she was seen as the one with the problem.

Najia Ashar, journalist and founding president of GNMI, said that work pressure was not really an issue with media people as they were always prepared for anything but she had seen that when there were fresh graduates coming into the media industry, there were many girls and few boys.

“But later, when these girls decide to settle down in their lives they gradually leave their profession. And then those who are still there find the working environment suddenly turning venomous,” she said.

Journalist and activist Quratulain Iqrar said that she had seen girls being given difficult shifts at news channels or being harassed about transport. “Such pressures also hurt their performance at work and with that she also starts losing her confidence,” she pointed out.

Amna Dawood, a lawyer, said that it was a pity that the people here were not aware of the laws that were there to help them. She also said that women could come up to lodge complaints for the crimes committed against them whenever they wanted to as it was not time-bound.

“But they must have documented proofs and evidence,” she said, adding that it was also a fact that investigations were very weak, difficult and painful here unlike in the West.

Acting public affairs officer at the US Consulate in Karachi Stephan Valen said that harassment was not just a women’s issue, it was also an issue of human rights, security, health and economics, which in turn affected the society.

“As half of the planet comprises women, they have the right to be treated equally. Harassing people is not normal and we need to create that awareness that society is not normal with such kind of issues existing within it. When [you] allow women to step up, your entire country steps up because when women succeed, society and nations succeed,” he said.

]]>https://www.pakistangendernews.org/harassment-is-an-issue-of-human-rights-security-economics/feed/0LUMS students protest against sexist social media postshttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/lums-students-protest-against-sexist-social-media-posts/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/lums-students-protest-against-sexist-social-media-posts/#respondWed, 10 Apr 2019 10:11:20 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87646LAHORE: A large number of women students of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) protested against their male class fellows for posting derogatory and sexist remarks on social networking sites.

The female students also boycotted classes and held a sit-in outside the university’s Office of Students Affairs. They shouted slogans against the students involved in the incident.

The girls demanded that the university administration take strict action against their class fellows as the incident has not only damaged their reputation, but also tarnished the image of LUMS.

Meanwhile, the LUMS administration removed the posts and comments against female students from the websites. According to university sources, an inquiry committee has also been set up to tackle the issue.

On Monday evening, a tense atmosphere dominated the LUMS campus as a group of students targeted specific female groups and put up derogatory posts on websites. “Our families were also disturbed after seeing those posts. Therefore, we protested,” said a female student.

“We demand action against the male students. The administration assured that they removed the posts, but we demand an explanation from the boys involved in the incident,” said another student. She added that they would protest outside LUMS if the administration did not expel the male students involved.

Meanwhile, LUMS also published their stance over the matter on their official website.

“LUMS is an institution that cherishes diversity among its student body. We provide an environment where students are encouraged to freely exchange ideas and debate and discuss issues important to them, among themselves and with various stakeholders. In this spirit, a group of students along with members of FemSoc (Feminist Society at LUMS) approached the Dean, Office of Student Affairs, regarding a social media page where some students belonging to LUMS were sharing offensive, sexist memes.

The students and the dean had a detailed conversation and agreed that this is an unfortunate episode. However, it can actually help open doors to further the conversation on mutual respect and sensitise the community at large on gender issues. LUMS is proud of its thoughtful students and encourages collective action on such issues. We hope that this event will help further the culture of respect on our campus,” said the official statement of LUMS.